[swbiodiversity.org] Habitat, Range, Intergradation: Aristida divaricata grows on dry hills andplains, especially in pinyon-juniper-grassland zones, from the southwestern United States through Mexico to Guatemala. It occasionally intergrades with A. havardii, but that species has lemma beaks that are straight or have only 1-2 twists, shorter primary branches, usually no secondary branches, and pedicels that more frequently have axillary pulvini so the spikelets are more frequently divergent than in A. ternipes. (link added by Mary Ann Machi)